Elka shutter
The Elka was a Japanese leaf shutter made in the 1930s. See also the Semi Elka, a 4.5×6cm camera made in 1941. Origin The maker of the Elka shutter is not known for sure. Some versions have T.B.C.T. markings or a TB logo. A Semi Elka 4.5×6cm camera is reported in the official price list dated November 1941, where it is attributed to the company Banno Toyoji Shōten, which is otherwise unknown. The name is hardly legible as 伴野豊治商店. This might read "Tomono Toyoji Shōten" as well. The "TB" logo might stand for Toyoji Banno, but this is merely a guess. The company Fuji Kōgaku is also known to have made an Elka rangefinder in 1936, Advertisement dated March 1936 reproduced in , p.137. but it is not known if it is related. Versions It seems that the first versions of the Elka shutter were dial-set, up to mid-1936, and that it became rim-set after that date. , p.388 (item 157), says that the July 1936 advertisement in for the National (4×6.5) shows a shutter of the "old Vario type" whereas the following ones show a shutter of the "new Vario type". The early dial-set Elka has 25, 50, 100, B, T speeds selected by a flat wheel at the top. Early dial-set Elka pictured in Yazawa, p.11 of no.265, and on the Need plate folder in , item 1212. The name ELKA is inscribed in capital letters on the speed wheel cover and the initials T.B.C.T. are written in small capital letters underneath. There is a hole under the lens for a thread and needle release device, and no logo is visible. The late dial-set Elka has the same speeds engraved in the reverse order on a conical wheel, engraved ELKA at the front. Late dial-set Elka pictured on a Yamamoto Lucky in an advertisement in July 1936, p.A62. The hole for the thread and needle release is at a slightly different location, and the front plate has a TB logo on the right. The plain Elka has B, 25, 50, 100 speeds set by an index, and the name Elka in small letters at the top of the shutter plate. Lever-set Elka on the National (4×6.5) pictured in , item 1209. Some illegible text is also written at the bottom. The Elka-C has 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, B, T speeds set by turning the rim. The front plate has the words Patent–Pending at the top, ELKA–C at the bottom and a TB logo on the right. Elka-C pictured in Yazawa, p.11 of no.265, advertisement for the Kinka Roll in December 1936, p.A58, and leaflet for the Gold Camera, reproduced in this Flickr set by Rebollo_fr. One example is known with the same name and markings but 100, 50, 25, B, T speeds only; however this particular example was crudely repaired during World War II, and its speed rim was perhaps substituted. Example pictured on the Neure Six in the Umemoto history page. An Elka-B is also reported, giving T, B, 5–200 speeds, but has not been observed so far. , p.336 (item 102). Cameras equipped This list is incomplete, and not all the versions of the cameras listed have an Elka shutter: * Gold * Kinka D * Kinka Roll * Kinka Lucky * National (4×6.5) * Need plate folder * Sun plate folder * Super and Special Super plate folders Associated with an unknown lens In the advertisements, the Elka shutter is often associated with a lens called トリオナー (torionā) in katakana script. The corresponding Roman spelling is unclear, and is discussed in the Trionar page. Notes Bibliography Original documents * Anonymous company. Leaflet for the Gold Camera. Date not indicated. Document reproduced in this Flickr set by Rebollo_fr. * . Advertisements by Yamamoto Shashinki Kōsakusho: ** July 1936, p.A62; ** December 1936, p.A58. * Type 3, sections 6A and 7A. Recent sources * * * Yazawa Seiichirō (矢沢征一郎). "Renzu no hanashi (175) Kubi no shūshū" (レンズの話175首の収集, Lens story 175 Collection of heads). In no.265 (July 1999). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. Pp.9–11. Category: Japanese shutters Category: Leaf shutters